OK, so I have to rant. This is nothing to do with Christianity, but I have no other forum to mention this issue. It is relevant to my other major interest: education! I have taught higher education for three years and now, in addition to running my business, I tutor online. In my bout with education, I have come to realize that educational theory is absolutely scalping our society!
A bunch of people who have never taught with doctoral degrees in education, but no practical classroom experience are tossing around ideas, designing curriculum, and passing it on to the people in the classroom. And sadly, the people in the classroom have to conform or be cast out.
So, while tutoring high school students, I sometimes wonder what concoctions of STRANGE drugs the teachers are taking when they give the problems and examples to students that I see (no wonder they are asking for help). Case in point number 1: proportions. Whoever is teaching proportions out there in high school chemistry, PLEASE STOP!!!! It works out mathematically, but not work out LOGICALLY, as a result, the students can punch numbers, but never learn to solve problems with logical thinking. So when you are doing some simple chemistry, they get the answer, but it totally collapses as learning method once stoichiometry hits. Lets teach logic, not monkey button pushing!
This brings me to my next issue. When you are teaching concepts, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE use real units! It especially helps out the online tutors whom are trying to teach dimensional analysis to your confused students using the dubious conversion factor of Goats to Mockingbirds (and no, I am not kidding, that is what my last student just told me!). So, as I was trying to answer this question: “express 1013 miners in examiners while 1 examiner is 1018” I have no flipping clue WHAT you are talking about. So please, say NO to drugs, stop using cute little made up units. It is not like the physical world is lacking units that are easy to find my college general chemistry text! Here is a tip: If you teach conversion factors with miles and Km, I know what the student is talking about and will be better able to assist you in your task of teaching the student!
So, in conclusion, Let us pray for the educational institutions. Let us remember that here in America, we achieved many great things based on the age-old education model of teaching facts, but then, we have become too sophisticated for that 'archaic' model so we had to cast it off and here we are teaching conversion factors with Goats and Mockingbirds (please inform me on how that is more sophisticated than converting miles to kilometers!!). Let us cast off the educational theory of inexperienced theorists and teach concepts based out of reality, not absurdity. While we are at it, let us also instill the true value of education for education sake, not just for a stupid piece of paper that will hang on the wall.
Thanks for listen (or reading).
